Cassation Court Chief Calls For Disciplinary Proccedings against 3 Judges

The Chair of Bulgaria’s Supreme Court of Cassation, Lozan Panov, has proposed the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against three judges from Sofia City Court for breaches in issuing permits for the use of special surveillance devices, BTA reported on 22^nd of May.

The proposals specify that the three judges have committed violations in specific private criminal cases. It has been found that permits have been issued on submitted requests by an applicant for the use of special intelligence devices with regard to communicators and premises declared to be owned by permanent foreign diplomatic and consular representations in Bulgaria, as well as with regard to persons enjoying diplomatic and consular immunity or employees in the representations, in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

The proposals for disciplinary proceedings also indicate that two of the judges have issued orders which authorize the use of special surveillance devices for a period exceeding the maximum period permitted by the law. As regards one of the judges, it was found that in a private criminal case, the applicant filed a request for an order to use special surveilance devices for a crime that was not intentional.